Embodiments of the present inventive concept relate to electronic devices, and more particularly, embodiments of the present inventive concept relate to a device and a method of processing image data to be displayed on a display device.
A block diagram schematically depicting a conventional display system is illustrated in FIG. 1. A conventional display system 10 generally includes: a data compression unit 12 configured to compress image data from an external source; a memory device 14, also referred to as a frame buffer, for temporarily storing image data compressed by the data compression unit 12; a data reconstruction unit 16 configured to reconstruct compressed image data stored in the memory device 14; and a display panel 18 configured to display the compressed/reconstructed image data provided by the data reconstruction unit 16. In the above-described display system, it is possible to reduce the size of the memory device 14 by performing a compression operation on image data that is sent to the display panel 18.
There is a continuing consumer demand for increased size in the display panel 18. As a result, there is a corresponding increase in the amount of image data to be processed and transferred to the display panel 18. Assuming that the compression rate of the data compression unit 12 is maintained, the required size of the memory device 14 and any associated input/output bandwidth will increase in proportion to the increased amount of image data. At the same time, if the compression rate of the data compression unit 12 is increased, it is possible to limit any increase in, or to reduce, the size of the memory device 14 and the associated input/output bandwidth.
However, in the event that image data is compressed using a high compression rate, there is an associated increased loss of the image data. As a result, the picture quality of an image being displayed on the display panel 18 will suffer.